BREAKING| Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Action Against Calls Made For Social & Economic Boycott Of Muslims

A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking action against the calls made by several groups, following Nuh-Gurugram communal violence, for the social and economic boycott of Muslims.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud when the Constitution Bench hearing the Article 370 case was about to break for lunch.

Seeking urgent hearing of the matter, Sibal submitted–

"There is a very serious thing that has happened in Gurugram, where there is a call along with policemen, to say that if you employ these people in shops, you will all be 'gaddars'...We have filed an urgency petition. Lordship may look at lunch time."

The plea is moved as interlocutory application by Shaheen Abdullah, which is filed in his pending writ petition. Last week, the Court had passed an order in his application directing the police authorities in Delhi, UP and Haryana to ensure that no hate speech or violence take place in the rallies organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in the wake of Nuh communal clashes.

As per the application, despite the Supreme Court's order, more than 27 rallies have been organised across various States where blatant hate speeches calling for the killing and social & economic boycott of Muslims have been openly delivered.

To illustrate, the application referred to a video that surfaced on social media on 02.08.2023, which allegedly shows a procession by the Samhast Hindu Samaj through a neighbourhood in Hisar, Haryana issuing warnings to residents/shopkeepers that if they continue to employ/keep any Muslims after 2 days, then their shops will be boycotted. The applicant alleges that the threat calls against the minority community was made in the presence of police officers.

The application also alleges that open calls for violence and boycott of Muslims were given by VHP leader Kapil Swami in the presence of Police Officials in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh on August 4. The application also refers to a speech made by a Bajrang Dal leader in Fazilka in Punjab on August 6 justifying the murders of Nasir and Junaid who were brutally beaten and burnt alive in February, 2023.

"It is submitted that such rallies that demonize communities and openly call for violence and killing of people are not limited in terms of their impact to just those areas that are presently dealing with communal tensions but will inevitably lead to communal disharmony and violence of an unfathomable scale across the country," states the application.

The plea seeks action against police officers who participated in those rallies and meetings for failure to prevent hate speeches. The applicant further seeks directions to the concerned State police to explain the action taken by them against hate speeches.